What Do You Treasure in Your Life? #WriteBravely

Participating in a blogging challenge can be a fun way to keep the blog and your writing on track. So I’ll be blogging for the next 7 consecutive days, based on prompts from the Write Tribe Festival of Words.

(Please bear with this sudden flood, and I hope the posts pass muster.)

Today’s blogging challenge prompt is “Write about a treasure you possess.”

Over time, my concept of what I treasure has changed.

As a child, books, pens, chocolate topped the list. As I grew older, it was clothes, jobs, make-up. Older still, it was the place I lived in, the people I lived with. Now, while I still treasure friends and family, and value interactions and experiences more than possessions, the one part of my existence I truly treasure is my breath. It is not really a possession, but it ensures that I continue to exist.

But continuing to exist is not the only thing my breath gives me.

A long deep breath acts as an internal massage. Watching and counting my breaths takes me away from thoughts, and into being. It helps me stay centered when I’m agitated. A few minutes of breathing exercises charge me right up. And best of all, my breath is always with me, always doing its job and keeping me company, even when I’m asleep.

So yes, breath. Breath is my treasure, and it receives a whole lot of my attention– because it is so easy to forget, but so rewarding to remember. I took a few slow breaths as I wrote this, and it felt good.

Take a few deep breaths, then close your eyes and breath some more, focusing on how it feels while going in an out. You might enjoy it.

What about you? What is your treasure? Who or what do you value the most in your life? Why? Do you pay attention to your breath? Care to share your experience? What sort of blogging challenge would you attempt?

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Breathing helps us to stay in the moment and focus. It also guards us against mental depression, I feel. I am learning to count my breath and yoga has done wonders for me. Today, I am skipping yoga class because of the rain. Poor me…hehe

Deep, slow breaths also help us fall into a deep and peaceful sleep.
What I treasure most is the love of family and friends (including my online friends). These associations keep my heart light and my whole being feeling alive.

Hi Damyanti – you’ve picked a brilliant treasure here … we’d each be nowhere without this treasure. I have recently – last 10 years or so … taken more time to breathe deeply before I answer, or make decisions … I’ve learnt to hold back, but not stop breathing! Very clever … and thanks for highlighting ‘the breath’ … cheers Hilary

Well, quite rightly picked your treasured possession. Not everyone gives breath (or life) such an esteemed value. Usually we take it for granted. Comparing to real life, while driving I find at least 3-4 cases each day when a person so engrossed in his/her mobile phone, that without looking at the road they come right before a vehicle, endangering their own life and other’s. It’s a sad affair how people have begun to take their life for granted (or, was it always the same).

Hi, Damyanti. Until I read this today, my wife and family have been top of list of treasures. However, your refreshing article has reminded me of a time in my younger years when I self-studied Hatha Yoga mainly for inner enlightenment via meditation — [my bowed legs were no help in ever achieving any complex physical poses such as the Lotus position, but didn’t hinder me in the Plough and Lion poses, along with headstands which I usually held for over 30 minutes each session. 😉 ] Despite my efforts, Kundalini only stirred a little, and I should probably gone to Specsavers for my Third Eye to open, but I do feel at one with the Universe. 😉 My lengthy digression is only to concur with your thoughts about breathing and how you’ve made me realise that everything I treasure in our Universe is reliant on my continuing to breathe. Thank you.

Nice way of looking at it, Damyanti. I treasure life, but never thought of treasuring my breath or breathing! I’ll admit that I don’t meditate or do breathing “exercises” (not since being told I didn’t have to use the spirometer dubbed “Mr. Happy Face” in the hospital after breast cancer surgery, anyway!)

I do love to live in the moment, but I’m not sure I’d put it as I treasure each breath I take. 🙂 It does sound nice though. I can relate to a deep breath calming me down or giving me the time to think before I talk or write. That breath is quite valuable for sure.

Breathe…an unsung hero! So rightly mentioned by you it is easy to forget but really rewarding to remember! Indeed it is the only treasure that gives unconditional company from birth till death.
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Anagha From Team MocktailMommies

So much irony for me here. As an anaesthesiologist, my job is to continuously have an eye on the breaths for every patient by my side. And I mean, every single patient of all ages from 1 day old to 99 years old. But as for me myself, no! I don’t really focus on my own breath!

That is a treasure I haven’t read about anywhere else today. How we forget to be thankful for things we don’t even realize are so important to us. As I was reading the post, I felt myself relax and actually breathe in and out. Wonderful!

Very true. Only someone who struggles to breathe, will know the true value of breath. We take it for granted, without realizing what magic happens inside our body, every time we take a nice deep breath.

As I am just recovering from another chest infection which has left me gasping for breath and using an inhaler, I really liked this post! Being able to breathe is such a treasure which we do take for granted. I can’t wait to be able to walk the dog and play with the grandchildren again without gasping for air!!

Rightly said. We do not focus on our breath , we take it for granted. When I do yoga, I understand the value of breath. Deep breathing helps to calm the mind and helps our body too. Thanks for writing this .

That’s such an amazing treasure… the one we dont value despite it being so vital as well. I realized its value when I started meditating where one has to focus on the breath. It was an eye opening experience and learnt the big lesson of being in the moment.

What a fascinating treasure! I would never have thought about the non-physical, can’t-hold-in-your-hands treasure, but my breath is also something I hold dear. As a singer, I’m very aware of my breath and whether my lungs are working great or poorly (oh, allergy season). There are days when my first thought upon waking up is, “It’s a good day because I woke up.” There’s always a treasure in that.

The intangibles hold the most precious treasures. Everything else passes from being to non-being. I like to imagine my breath as a part of the universe, that remains when I’m gone, as breath to another being, or a breeze, or a particle of a storm.

Yes, focusing on breathing is the best way to keep my monkey-mind calm and rested.

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